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galacticbugman · 5 years

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Dragonfly Adventures #1

When I am out on an insect adventure I always seem to wind up looking at things that look like they are from a science fiction world. Many of the creatures in the bug world have really peaked my interest but the Dragonflies are one of my absolute favorite insects. We even have a Dragonfly as the Texas Master Naturalist mascot (the Cyrano Darner) I think Dragonflies have a true beauty to them and I love to photograph them. Not only the Dragonflies but their close cousins the Damselflies. Both are in the genus Odonata which translates to “Toothed-ones” Dragonflies come in all different shapes, shades, and sizes and I have been very lucky to meet several of them when on my travels and adventures in nature and I would like for you to meet a few of them so lets see what we can find, shall we.

As the sun sinks low it is time for the Darners to rest after a whole day of hunting on the wing. This guy is called the Swamp Darner. One of the biggest I have seen; the Swamp Darner here was found at a place down in the woodlands of Texas called Jesse H. Jones Nature Center. I went out there a couple of years back and I must say this was a cool place. This guy was spotted by my aunt who has a pretty sharp eye when I don’t notice things. This guy was trying to take a snooze but at one point he took off and buzzed me a couple of times and at one point I thought he was going to land on me. This is a male and he was on a really nice boardwalk trail that was surrounded by tree knees, dense forest, and a lot of Spanish moss. That is one thing I like about south Texas you get to see a lot of nice bits of moss and things that animals can take refuge in. This guy almost blended in perfectly with his surroundings. He was a really dark color with only hints of a blueish green on his abdomen stripes. He is one of the many species I have seen down there. When I am looking for Dragonflies I always like to go near water to look for them but this guy was not anywhere near water. The boardwalk was on a creek system but no recent waters had come in the area so it was pretty dry. This is one of my favorite shots of any dragonfly. This is how they sleep they will latch on to a tree limb or something and just hang around until it is time to hunt again.

Back up near where I live is a place called Crystal Canyon Natural Area. In that park there is a little creek system that runs through it. On one of the bridges I stopped to look at some of the limbs for Dragonflies. In the hot summer time if you are out in the trail and you come across a tangle of branches out by a pond or water way always keep your eyes peeled for dragonflies perch on the native vegetation. This is called a Great Spreadwing Damselfly. Not a dragonfly but it is pretty large. There are a few things you need to know about Odonata to better understand their physical appearance to distinguish what you are looking at. One is that Dragonflies are more stocky and fatter and tend to fly more strongly in the air; they also have broader wings and more of a rounded head. Damselflies tend to be much more skinny than their bigger cousins, they have a head that is triangulated with two bulbous eyes that stick out on either side of its head they also tend to have more a dance more than just sheer force when they fly. They tend to bounce and twirl around when they take to the sky. Most Damsels sit with their wings closed unlike Dragonflies which when at rest sit with their wings open. Unless you are this guy you have have your cake and eat it too. The Spreadwing is what I call a rule breaker and it is a special kind of Damselfly that sits with its wings at a slight ventricle. The Great Spreadwing is the biggest we have here in Texas and it is my favorite of all the Damselflies I have seen. It is large and has the most remarkable coloration to it. I love the emerald green patches on its back; when the sun hits it just right it shines just like it was metallic.

Since we are on the topic of Spreadwings here is another one that I photographed on one my recent outings at Elmer W. Oliver Nature Park in Mansfield Texas. This one was on one of the more densely forested areas out by Walnut Creek out by the Bluebonnet patch. This guy flew right in front of me and I knew what it was when it landed. This one is much smaller than the last one; this guy is known as the Southern Spreadwing. It is pretty cool too with a more darker color scheme going on than the Great Spreadwing. This one is just a touch smaller but still a fairly good size and is easily identified when in the good light. I was kind of in a shady area so it took me longer to get a good enough photo to see what kind of Spreadwing he was.

Okay so I just post two photos of what look like two different damselflies. Are they different species or are they the same? Well actually these are both American Ruby Spots. The redder one is the male and the more emerald one is the female. Sometime these guys like to throw a curve ball and will make you think that you have another species. We animals that have two different color patterns sexually dimorphic. It is just a fancy way of saying that the males look different than the ladies and the ladies look totally different than the guys. If you ever go out to the Lake Lewisville Environmental Learning Area in Texas take a walk down the Bittern Trail that is right next to the river in the summer time. You can most likely see this species in the sunny patches by the river’s banks. These guys like to dance in the grass and other plants that are around there. There are so many species to talk about on my end. Let us meet one I met in Travis County a couple of years back shall we.

Here is one I got at one of the Metro Parks outside Austin meet the Flag-tailed Spinyleg. These are one heck of a Dragonfly to look at. This one is in the family of Clubtails. Some of the largest Dragonflies of Texas come from this group including my personal fave the Dragonhunter which I have not photographed yet. There was also another flying about that day as well, observe if you will...

This one is called the Four-striped Leaftail. I have a hard time with the names of these because they are so close together and I often just have to wait until I get some kind of confirmation on iNaturalist before I am convinced. There are many different kinds of Club Tails most do sport a lot of back and yellow coloration but also notice their tails if you will. At the end of their tail which is their abdomen is a huge knob. These are what gives this type their name. There are a few others like this one for instance I found a little closer to home at a place called Cliff Nelson Recreation Center.

This is the third Clubtail on my life list and it is a little smaller than the previous two. This one is called the Jade Clubtail. This guy is a little greener than most of its kind but is still just as pretty. I saw this one last summer on one of the hottest days of the year. That is one thing about insects the more hotter and more uncomfortable you are the more they will be out. It is fun to hunt for these guys but you have to have a wide brim hat to keep the sun off of you, a cold bottle of water with you in a canteen or something, then you need sunscreen too. Some times I will bring a bandanna with me or an extra rag to get wet so I can wipe my face and neck when I get too much sweat or when I need to cool off. Insect hunting can be easy but if you are really into it like I am and want to see a lot of species all around then you have to bring along a little gear to make the trip a little more easier on ya. I wouldn’t have it any other way though. Dragonflies are one of my favorite groups of insects and I love to watch them zip around the pond. Lets look at some more of these winged beauties before I close the gate on this blog post.

One that I always look for on the pond around late summer to early fall are these guys. These winged beauties are one of my all time favorites and they are not even that big. The Halloween Pennant is one of the most beautiful and appealing Dragonflies I have ever come to face to face too. I used to go to TCC South Campus in Arlington and they have a pond out there well in recent years when I have free time I go back to that pond year after year and get observations for it and they get droves of these every year that I have been there. That pond is one of my favorite places to go to at all times of the year. It is great for birds all year round and good for plants in the spring and the insects in the spring, summer and late fall. I spend a lot of time in Arlington since I got to school and live here. I tend to go to a lot of old stomping grounds at many different times of year just to see what I can find during all four seasons. I don’t go to the old campus to often I spend a lot more time at the one I currently go to which is South Campus. There are a lot of Dragonflies there too but not as many as I have seen at Southeast. For some reason they like that pond a lot more than the on at the campus I go to now. Still seeing these in the summer is really neat they are very easy to recognize and come in great numbers.

One of the coolest and most rewarding Dragonfly chases of my life would have to be when I photographed this guy. It took me about ten minutes to wait until this Twelve-spotted Skimmer got situated for a picture. Sometimes you just have to be patient and wait for your target to land. Sometimes there are some species that just don’t cooperated like your Baskettails and things. The Skimmers are more forgiving and will let you take photo of them landing. This guy was at Elmer W. Oliver at the second pond when I found him. He was flying back and forth and would not settle. I would get my camera in focus but when I would be ready to take the shot he would fly off and then I would have to chase him down again. Normally I give these guys at a fairly good distance. Giving an animal distance is a great way to make them less afraid of you. Sometimes that is all you can do but this guy had too much energy but there was the one point when this photo was taken when he did finally sit still and the reward was the glamour shot. Sometimes patients and persistence does pay off. For me this was the first shot I ever got of this particular species of Dragonfly. It was a really cool capture after a heated chase around the pond. Sometimes in the science field you have to look like an idiot to make some things work. It is something we don’t mind though. Shoot I do all kinds of crazy things to get what I need for citizen science but that is okay. Sure people may think I am weird and crazy like I have lost my gourd but heck I don’t really care what people think of me when I am out doing this stuff.

And last but certainly not least I want to draw your attention to this little guy. There are about three species of Dragonfly that are sure to be out any old summer day in North Texas. This guy is one of them; meet the Blue Dasher. Yet small and common they are one that is good to warm up on. There is not a shortage of them at the ponds that I go to. They are out there all the time. There are also Eastern Pondhawks and Eastern Amberwings which are our Smallest Dragonfly which patrol the ponds as often as these guys do. The pond is a great place to visit weather you are having a picnic by one, out doing a bit of fishing, or just enjoying the serenity of it all. As for me I am always out looking at the bugs around the pond because that is what I do best. Dragonflies are predatory insects and eat other bugs but even thought they are said to be the most adaptable predator of the pond they are still very pretty in their own right. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder but Dragonflies and Damselflies are some of the ponds most treasured gems. They are a sign of resilience and power. They are a truly remarkable and have been on this planet even when the dinosaurs roamed the earth. They are ancient creatures and are one of nature’s greatest success stories. For now I am Zachary Chapman I will see you on the trail.

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